Steep Cuts to Carbon Emission Gain Stronger Economic Backing
A piece in the Wall Street Journal quotes Senior Fellow Kevin Rennert and cites RFF research on the social cost of carbon.
Many economists say an even lower rate is justified by the decline in inflation-adjusted interest rates to near or below zero in major economies, and by the fact that climate change could leave society, especially in developing countries, much poorer than otherwise. “Intuitively, a $100 cost in a future in which society has grown dramatically wealthier should be valued less, from today’s perspective, than the same $100 cost in a relatively poor future with stagnant economic growth,” says a new study by a team organized by Resources for the Future, an environmental think tank...
“With the updated research, the marginal damages are higher than previously understood, suggesting a substantially higher optimal carbon price consistent with more stringent action to address climate change,” said Kevin Rennert, who led the RFF study.
